Airlines charging more for aisle and window seats, but not always

In this June 17, 2011, file photo, passengers crowd the kiosks to check in and print boarding passes at San Francisco International Airport in San Francisco.

NEW YORK >> If you're
flying this summer, be prepared to kiss your family goodbye at the gate.
Even if they're on the same plane.

Airlines are reserving a
growing number of window and aisle seats for passengers willing to pay
extra. That's helping to boost revenue but also making it harder for
friends and family members who don't pay this fee to sit next to each
other. At the peak of the summer travel season, it might be nearly
impossible.

Buying tickets two or more months in advance makes
things a little easier. But passengers are increasingly finding that the
only way to sit next to a spouse, child or friend is to shell out $25
or more, each way.

With base fares on the rise — the average
roundtrip ticket this summer is forecast by Kayak.com to be $431, or 3
percent higher than last year — some families are reluctant to cough up
more money.

Bouaphanh balked at paying an extra $114 roundtrip in fees
to reserve three adjacent seats for him, his wife and their
four-year-old daughter on an upcoming trip to Disney World. "I'm hoping
that when we can get to the counter, they can accommodate us for free,"
he says.

Airlines say their gate agents try to help family members
without adjacent seats sit together, especially people flying with
small children. Yet there is no guarantee things will work out.

Not everyone is complaining.

Frequent
business travelers used to get stuck with middle seats even though
their last-minute fares were two or three times higher than the average.
Now, airlines are setting aside more window and aisle seats for their
most frequent fliers at no extra cost.

"The customers that are
more loyal, who fly more often, we want to make sure they have the best
travel experience," says Eduardo Marcos, American Airline's manager of
merchandising strategy.

For everybody else, choosing seats on airline websites has become more of a guessing game.

To
travelers who haven't earned "elite" status in a frequent flier
program, flights often appear full even though they are not. These
casual travelers end up paying extra for an aisle or window seat
believing they have no other option.

But as flights get closer
many of the seats airlines had set aside for those willing to pay a
premium do become available — at no extra cost.

"Airlines are
holding these seats hostage," says George Hobica, founder of travel site
AirfareWatchdog. "The seat selection process isn't as fair as it used
to be."

Airlines are searching for more ways to raise revenue to
offset rising fuel costs. In the last five years, they have added fees
for checked baggage, watching TV, skipping security lines and boarding
early.

Now they are turning to seats.

Since last summer,
American, Delta Air Lines, Frontier Airlines and United Airlines have
increased the percentage of coach seats requiring an extra fee. Some —
like those on Delta, JetBlue Airways and United — come with more
legroom. Others, including those on American and US Airways, are just as
cramped but are window and aisle seats near the front.

Allegiant
Air and Spirit Airlines go one step further, charging extra for any
advanced seat assignment. On Spirit, passengers who aren't willing to
pay the extra $5 to $15 per flight, are assigned a seat at check-in. The
computer doesn't make any effort to keep families together.

"It
gets really difficult, unfortunately, because all you end up with is a
lot of onesies and twosies," says Barry Biffle, Spirit's chief marketing
officer. "If you want to sit together, we would highly encourage you to
get seat assignments in advance."

Delta just launched a
discounted "Basic Economy" fare on certain routes where it competes with
Spirit that doesn't include advance seat assignments.

"Airlines
have to be careful. They can only push this so far before they risk
incurring the wrath of customers or the government," says Henry
Harteveldt, co-founder Atmosphere Research Group.

Summer brings
passengers traveling in larger groups and fewer empty seats. Last July
and August, a record 86.4 percent of seats were filled by paying
customers. Planes will be "slightly fuller this year," says John P.
Heimlich, chief economist at the industry's trade group, Airlines for
America. Add in seats occupied by off-duty airline staff and passengers
who redeemed frequent-flier miles, and on many flights there won't be a
spare seat.

On a July flight from Dallas to San Francisco on
American, a recent search showed only 28 of 144 coach seats available
for passengers unwilling to pay extra. Of those, 21 were middle seats.
There were five spots where a couple could sit together; groups of three
or more were out of luck.

It was dramatically different for elite
frequent fliers. They could pick from 75 seats including nine rows with
four or more seats together.

Another flight — New York to Los
Angeles on Delta — offered its most loyal fliers almost twice as many
seats for free: 111 versus 60.

Booking through sites such as
Expedia, Orbitz and Travelocity can add complications. If somebody
inadvertently selects an elite seat or one requiring a fee, airline
reservation systems won't hold a seat for him. Passengers should confirm
selections with the airline.

For those unable to find two or more
adjacent seats, new seat assignments can be snagged for free starting
five days before departure as some elite fliers are upgraded to first
class. Another block of seats is released 24 hours in advance when
online check-in starts. Finally, gate agents can sometimes put families
in seats set aside for disabled passengers or ask others to move.

If
a young child is separated from his or her parent, "we just have to get
it done" says Frontier spokeswoman Lindsey Carpenter. "Usually, people
are pretty accommodating."

If all else fails, see if nearby
passengers are willing to switch. There might actually be some chivalry
left on planes. If not, offer to buy them a drink.